A payload, such as a bomb, may be suspended from below an aircraft before takeoff and subsequently released from the aircraft when airborne. The payload is provided with one or more lugs on an upper surface. The payload is mounted on the aircraft by engaging the lugs in hooks that are part of a payload rack attached to a bottom surface of the aircraft. The rack includes “sway braces” that extend from the rack and that are affixed firmly to the payload. This reduces or prevents swaying of the payload that would otherwise occur due to vibrations of the aircraft during takeoff and during flight. The payload is released from the rack by activating a release mechanism that opens the hooks. In order to prevent the released payload from coming into contact with the aircraft, the rack may include an ejection mechanism. The ejection mechanism includes a piston that immediately after the opening of the hooks is made to descend rapidly and strike an upper surface of the payload with a sufficiently large force so as to impart to the released payload a large downward momentum. Movement of the piston rod may be caused by a pyrotechnic mechanism in which an explosion is made to occur within the piston, or by a pneumatic source.
The rack typically has two pairs of sway braces. One pair contacts the payload at its forward end, while the second pair contacts the payload at its rear end. In order to accommodate payloads of different sizes, both pairs of sway braces are extendable. After mounting the payload, the sway braces are extended from the rack until they are firmly affixed to the upper surface of the payload. The sway braces are then secured in position.